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The Older Brother In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

943 Words4 Pages

Amongst James Hurst's novels, one of his well known titles, is "The Scarlet Ibis.” “The Scarlet Ibis” is a tale of a family which focuses on two brothers who live in the early 1900s on a cotton farm in North California. The Older Brother is the protagonist of this novel, and retells his encounters with Doodle; his younger brother. As the flashbacks and memories come closer to the present; it is clear that Doodle and his brother did not see eye to eye. Through majority of the story the Older Brother was never accepting of his younger brother, Doodle, because he was born with a disability. However, Doodle tries effortlessly to be his equal. Doodle is able to do what the family thought was impossible for him; like being able to walk, talk or just being alive! He battles with life as he keeps growing in the hopes of making his Older Brother proud. James Hurst uses conflict in his short story to convey a message of acceptance and love towards anyone; especially different from ourselves.

First, The older brother’s dialogue eludes that the family is unaccepting to Doodle’s disabilities. The Older Brother expresses the family’s un-acceptance of Doodle when he says, "He was born when I was six and was, from the outset a disappointment. Everyone thought he was going to die...Daddy had Mr.Health, the carpenter, build a mahogany …show more content…

A flow of regret strikes The Older Brother since he realized what his actions pushed him and Doodle into. This was Hurst ultimate way of expressing the theme in this short story. Hurst is showing the worst of two brothers who come from different worlds, and because the Older Brother didn’t love or accept him, he lost Doodle. The Older Brother didn’t want to accept Doodle because of his disableness. He didn’t show the love he needed to show for himself and Doodle; his actions caused him to lose what he realizes, in the end, is important to

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